NFLPI Announces App Contest Winner

NFL Players Inc. has selected Run Games’ mobile game “Football Heroes: Pro Edition” (working title) as the winner of its Mobile Madness Challenge.

The competition challenged developers to design an innovative mobile gaming concept that featured active NFL players.

As the winner, Run Games’ “Football Heroes: Pro Edition” will be granted a license from the NFLPI, the marketing and licensing arm of the NFL Players Association, for the 2014-15 NFL season and $10,000 in credit toward marketing the game via Activate, NFLPI’s social media endorsement platform that allows active NFL players to promote brands directly to their followers.

“Our goal is to continually expand opportunities for innovation and we are excited to collaborate with Run Games on the launch of ‘Football Heroes: Pro Edition’ that blends exciting dynamics of today’s mobile game applications with a classic arcade-style experience,” says Steve Scebelo, vice president of licensing and business development, NFLPI. “We had incredible response to the Mobile Madness Challenge, which gives us reason to believe the framework for issuing an industry-wide challenge offers growth opportunities across other categories of our NFLPI licensing business.”

“Football Heroes: Pro Edition,” which is scheduled to be released in September, acts as a sequel to Run Games’ “Football Heroes,” which topped the iTunes App Store charts when it was released in November 2013. The newest iteration of the game, which will be available on iOS and Android mobile devices, is a fast-paced arcade-style, role-playing game in which fans will construct the ultimate football team, selecting from more than 1,800 active NFL players to do battle online or head-to-head over Wi-Fi.

“It is an incredible honor to win the Mobile Madness Challenge and a huge boon for our business," says Michael Marzola, creative director, Run Games. “The license from NFLPI allows us to tap into the limitless power of NFL players and their fans all over the world. As football fans, we are excited to allow players to build their own fantasy teams with their favorite players, and then take them online to prove who has the ultimate team. As gamers, we are excited to bring something new to the virtual football arena, a true alternative to the simulation games of our competitors.”